I would like to just fill you in on a few things that happened recently so you know what's been going on.

The Cell show with Emma Lavandier and Melinda Faylor was a complete success! The place was filled, we had a !!FANTASTIC!! time performing and acting, and everyone enjoyed good French wine and cheese. The Cell's space is just an absolute pleasure for a performer: it's spacious, elegant, has great lighting, beautiful and FUN props...and the staff is awesome. Thank you to the cell! I can't wait to return to you.

My last show in NY before moving to Somerville, MA (Boston) is on August 5th at Cornelia Street Cafe. 6 pm. I love the staff there, the space is intimate, and the quaint West Village neighborhood makes for an ideal date spot.

I have actually had a few musical outings that I haven't written about, because the summer has been quite busy. Since performing with the Baroque Opera Workshop at the Queens Conservatory, I have for example, had the pleasure of hearing Julianne Baird perform (she was the master teacher at the workshop). This woman is a true treasure. Her angelic voice, agile technique, and giving personality makes her seem like an angel on Earth. I am so fortunate that I had the opportunity to get to know her a little and study Baroque ornamentation with her. I don't know if I've ever met someone in music quite so sweet as her. She's one of these marvels that just happen into your life suddenly and you always remember how special it was.

I hope to write a little more about what it was like hearing her sing. But right now, I'm learning the role of Despina in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, which I will be singing for Susan Morton's Sing Through Central in just under 2 weeks.

Since I haven't written much this summer on account of the busy-ness of things, I want to share something I've had in my archives for the past year -- My notes on seeing Jennifer Higdon at Opera America. Her interview elucidated what it's like being a contemporary composer, and shed some light on how young and aspiring composers can develop their path. Higdon's first opera, Cold Mountain, premiered last summer in Santa Fe. She's won a Pulitzer Prize for her Violin Concerto, a Grammy for her Percussion Concerto, and has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Pew Fellowship, amongst other prestigious honors.

But I remember her as someone with a refreshing sense of humor and down to earth -- She actually stayed after her interview and talked to the audience one on one over wine.

During her interview, she talked about how for composers, the first 10 years is all about experimenting, composing in different styles, learning the craft: "Little things start to appear over and over, and that becomes your voice." She recommends that it is the artist's job to always push forward, always stretch your abilities, be able to explain why you don't like something: "Build your toolbox by figuring out how to solve musical problems. Listen to as much music as possible - listen to one section and figure out what it is doing, like for instance, just the violin section."

Higdon typically composes 4 to 6 hours a day and likes to write music that is "useable." She said that music has to be interesting for other people too, because you have to get them to want to play it. On writing opera, she said that the characters live in your head and take on a life of their own. When writing for this medium, she composes 7 to 8 hours a day, and 12 hours on particularly inspired days, writing sequentially. She explained that writing for orchestra (her custom) is very different from writing opera, especially in the use of the strings, because in opera, the strings are largely there to support the singers and drama on stage, rather than be the leading voice of the action.

In the future, she hopes to write a chamber opera, and as for that Pulitzer? Higdon says: "Having a Pulitzer attached to your name is like having a moving target glued to you."

Jennifer teaches composition at Curtis in Philadelphia. Check out the video of her Opera America interview here.